Secondary school teaching assistant to early years teacher
A secondary school teaching assistant already meets 66% of what the early years teacher role asks for. The move turns on 8 required skills not yet in the profile.
41.4/ 100
1 How much of what an early years teacher is expected to do is already part of a secondary school teaching assistant’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the early years teacher role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An early years teacher role treats 21 of its required skills as things a secondary school teaching assistant already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- adapt teaching to student's capabilities
- apply teaching strategies
- assess students
- assess the development of youth
- assist students in their learning
- assist students with equipment
What stands in the way is 8 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 28 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An early years teacher role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a secondary school teaching assistant background worth leading with.
- already held social development health and welfare
- already held handle children's problems assisting and caring
- already held consult students on learning content communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held maintain relations with children's parents communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held perform playground surveillance assisting and caring
- already held encourage students to acknowledge their achievements management skills
All 28 carried skills, including the 21 the early years teacher role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 19 missing skills fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn teach kindergarten class content required
- still to learn apply intercultural teaching strategies required
- still to learn demonstrate when teaching required
- optional, not held liaise with educational support staff optional
- still to learn assist children in developing personal skills required
- still to learn implement care programmes for children required
- optional, not held provide after school care optional
- optional, not held attend to children's basic physical needs optional
- still to learn kindergarten school procedures required
- optional, not held assessment processes optional
- optional, not held language teaching methods optional
- optional, not held special needs education optional
- still to learn facilitate teamwork between students required
- optional, not held manage resources for educational purposes optional
- optional, not held organise creative performance optional
- still to learn monitor children's physical development required
- optional, not held use learning strategies optional
- optional, not held common children's diseases optional
1 further area in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an early years teacher role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 facilitate teamwork between students practise this
- 02 teach kindergarten class content practise this
- 03 apply intercultural teaching strategies practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 28 skills that carry over
- already held adapt teaching to student's capabilities skill
- already held apply teaching strategies skill
- already held assess students skill
- already held assess the development of youth skill
- already held assist students in their learning skill
- already held assist students with equipment skill
- already held curriculum objectives knowledge
- already held encourage students to acknowledge their achievements skill
- already held give constructive feedback skill
- already held guarantee students' safety skill
- already held handle children's problems skill
- already held instructional strategies knowledge
- already held learning difficulties knowledge
- already held maintain students' discipline skill
- already held manage student relationships skill
- already held perform classroom management skill
- already held prepare lesson content skill
- already held social development knowledge
- already held support children's wellbeing skill
- already held support the positiveness of youths skill
- already held teamwork principles knowledge
- already held consult students on learning content skill
- already held escort students on a field trip skill
- already held first aid knowledge
- already held maintain relations with children's parents skill
- already held perform playground surveillance skill
- already held promote the safeguarding of young people skill
- already held provide lesson materials skill
The 1 learning area not shown above
- optional, not held workplace sanitation optional
11 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held manage resources for educational purposes optional
- optional, not held provide after school care optional
- optional, not held assessment processes optional
- optional, not held attend to children's basic physical needs optional
- optional, not held common children's diseases optional
- optional, not held language teaching methods optional
- optional, not held liaise with educational support staff optional
- optional, not held organise creative performance optional
- optional, not held special needs education optional
- optional, not held use learning strategies optional
- optional, not held workplace sanitation optional
19 held skills the early years teacher role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role adolescent socialisation behaviour knowledge
- not needed by the target role advise on lesson plans skill
- not needed by the target role arrange parent teacher meeting skill
- not needed by the target role assist in the organisation of school events skill
- not needed by the target role compile course material skill
- not needed by the target role consult student's support system skill
- not needed by the target role disability types knowledge
- not needed by the target role identify learning disorders skill
- not needed by the target role keep records of attendance skill
- not needed by the target role liaise with educational staff skill
- not needed by the target role monitor educational developments skill
- not needed by the target role monitor student's behaviour skill
- not needed by the target role pedagogy knowledge
- not needed by the target role prepare youths for adulthood skill
- not needed by the target role provide teacher support skill
- not needed by the target role recognise indicators of gifted student skill
- not needed by the target role secondary school procedures knowledge
- not needed by the target role teach secondary education class content skill
- not needed by the target role work with virtual learning environments skill
6 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn kindergarten school procedures required
- optional, not held assessment processes optional
- optional, not held common children's diseases optional
- optional, not held language teaching methods optional
- optional, not held special needs education optional
- optional, not held workplace sanitation optional
Other moves recorded from secondary school teaching assistant
- primary school teaching assistant 76% covered · adjacent
- early years teaching assistant 67% covered · moderate
- Freinet school teacher 66% covered · moderate
- Montessori school teacher 64% covered · moderate
Full index of moves from secondary school teaching assistant
Common questions about this move
Can a secondary school teaching assistant become an early years teacher?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A secondary school teaching assistant already covers 66% of what an early years teacher is expected to do: 28 skills carry over, 21 of which the early years teacher role treats as required.
What skills does a secondary school teaching assistant need to become an early years teacher?
8 required skills are missing, plus 11 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is facilitate teamwork between students.
How hard is the move from secondary school teaching assistant to early years teacher?
Its learning distance is 41.4 out of 100, which is the moderate band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.